Questions Craigs Always Ask - Part I

The conversations I have with the guys I meet on CL are often stunningly similar. In part this is because they are the standard small-talk conversations, with the awkwardness compounded by the fact that we have either just had or are just about to have sex. However, there are several questions that come up with eerie regularity.

Typically, they ask me how often I do the CL thing. Sometimes I lie, but generally I'm honest, because as far as I'm concerned, if you're a guy having sex with some girl you found on the internet in the middle of the night, you are in no position to judge that girl. So I tell them the truth- I do this a lot. After some of kind of comment about my sluttiness (usually approving, sometimes not) the guy often asks some variation on "Don't you think this kind of dangerous?"

They mean, of course, that I could end up at the house of the serial killer or a rapist or have my organs harvested for the organ black market. Or on a more mundane level, I could end up knocked-up and syphilitic. All of this is certainly a possibility. Yes, this is a dangerous habit. But of course, the danger is part of the appeal. I really don't have any idea what is going to happen when I go to these people's houses or who they are or if they're going to respect my wishes. There is usually a moment before I get out of my car when I just sit and hesitate. My heart pounds and often my hands are shaking and I contemplate flaking out and going back to my own apartment and going to bed like a normal girl. But I always go in.

I've never had a bad experience off of CL. Unsatisfying, awkward or boring, yes, but nothing dangerous or terrible. It may just be a matter of time, but I am young and stupid and I will keep taking the risks to reap the rewards.

Observation

Whenever it's raining, a majority of the ads in m4w will reference the rain as some kind of reason for a casual encounter.

In fact, I find the rain a disincentive. I hate having sex when it's humid.

OH!

Don't you just love the a-ha moment when you figure out a CL euphemism? Today for me it was "ski bunny". I had honestly assumed until about 10 minutes ago that these ads were legitimately calling for girls who like to ski.....in May.....indoors?

Yeah, it means cocaine. My mind is as blown as those lines will be.

Posting Habits, Responding Habits, etc

When I post an ad in w4m, I get anywhere between 50 to 150 responses, depending on if and when my post gets flagged. I am intensely curious about what a comparable post would yield in m4w. I know what w4w yields- nothing. But I have observed that every m4w ad I've responded to, I have gotten a follow up reply for. This may be indicative of my clearly superior ad response skills, but I also suspect that it indicates fewer responses for male-posted ads, which would seem only reasonable given the general demographics of CL and sites like it.

I prefer to post ads rather then reply in general. Posting obviously yields a larger pool to pick from, and, provided that they actually read the whole ad, I can safely assume that the occupants of said pool are into what I am into. I typically only respond to ads that address one of my particular fetishes, or ones that seem clever and well-written. It should go without saying that these are few and far between.

I also try really hard to not respond to ads at the same time as I have my own ad currently posted. Guys do this all the time and I always find it annoying. I suppose they assume that I will not notice, but then, my obsession with CL is probably beyond the ken of the average male.

How NOT to Reply to an Ad

Ok, let's say you're a man and you're trolling around Craigslist casual encounters. You discover an ad by a woman who appears to be neither a robot or an escort, and so you reply. If you never get a response back, one of these reasons probably explains it:

1. Poor Reading Comprehension Skills- If the girl says that you must host, don't ask her when she wants you to come over. If the girl says she wants bondage, don't tell her you want to tenderly make love to her. In other words, read and respond to the actual ad in question.

2. Terrible Accidental Misspellings- I'm no spelling bee champion and I misuse "it's" and "its" all the time, so I understand that mistakes will be made from time to time. However, the crimes against the English language I have seen in my CL responses have been truly cringe worthy and there is nothing sexy about cringing.

3. Terrible Deliberate Misspellings- It's spelled "What" not "wut". Also, if I am going to take the time to fuck you, you should take the time to spell out the word "too."

4. "Pic?"- One sentence replies are irksome enough, but when it consists of only "pic?", "u got a pic?" or "PIC PLEASE!!!", that is an instant deal breaker. This says to me "please let me judge you before I decide whether or not you are worth me writing in complete sentences."

5. "Very oral!!"- Ok, so this is purely a personal pet peeve. My fellow Craigsluts might love this, but for some reason that phrase annoys the shit out of me. First of all, I have low expectations for the oral skills of the average man, and so saying you are very oral seems to promise me only a long, sloppy, protracted session of you lapping at me while I pretend to be into it just to be polite. Not fun.

There are a multitude of other things that you can do wrong, these are but the most obvious ones. Think on them next time you are considering hitting the send button, and maybe, just maybe, you might actually get laid tonight.

Craigslist and Me

I use Craigslist to get laid. I use it a lot. In fact, it's pretty much become my hobby. I used to be really into knitting and reading novels, but now I use all that time to screw guys I meet on the internet. I would say my life is improving.